Site Banner

Study shows the benefits of affordable housing: Opinion

A young resident plays at Ethel R. Lawrence Homes, an affordable housing complex in Mount Laurel that has been praised as “a model for promoting greater integration and a pathway out of poverty for disadvantaged minority families throughout the United States.” (2012 file photo)

By Howard Gillette Jr.

Affordable housing, and particularly the Mount Laurel doctrine that mandates that every municipality in New Jersey has an obligation to provide its “fair share” of affordable housing, is under attack.

While Gov. Chris Christie has been rebuffed by the courts in his effort to eliminate by executive order the Council on Affordable Housing established by the Legislature to implement the Mount Laurel decisions, he has often stated his intent to change the makeup of the high court in order to get his way.